Bookstore company at MCC, Kettering hopes to lure students with Rent-A-Text

FLINT, Michigan — Kyle Weirauch spent about $700 for his first semester of textbooks at Kettering University’s bookstore — and hasn’t been back since.

His new sources: eBooks, Amazon.com and Half.com, where he has snagged usually pricey textbooks for as low as $20.

“I was a freshman. I didn’t know any better,” said the 21-year-old, now an upperclassman electrical engineering major. “It’s a decaying business model. They are way too expensive. ”

And now the company that runs both Kettering and Mott Community College’s bookstores is trying to lure customers such as Weirauch back by offering what’s like the Blockbuster of textbook shopping.

Follett Higher Education Group is hoping its national pilot rental program Rent-A-Text could soon hit its local bookstores in Flint, offering rentals at less than half the retail price.

A textbook that might retail for $100 would be available for rental for about $40 for the entire semester.

“It’s taking the idea of textbook rental and moving it to a new level that really serves students’ needs,” company spokesman Elio Distaola said.

The demand for textbook bargains has bred a slew of competitors over the years, as fewer students are willing to pay full price, especially when wear and tear and new editions often make it difficult to sell books back.

Other online retailers have dabbled in textbook renting for years, but Follett, which operates 850 college bookstores around the nation, is trying to become the modern model by offering its program on campuses.

Distaola said the expanded program, which could include more than 400 campus bookstores by fall, has been tweaked from the original pilot that started at seven sites last year, including Grand Rapids Community College.

The new version includes an online component, but students would skip the shipping fees of traditional online outlets, he said.

“They could rent their books from their dorm rooms at 3 a.m. and walk to the bookstore in the morning to pick them up,” he said. “We’ve paired the convenience of online transactions with the convenience of campus stores.”

Rent-A-Text also allows students to dog-ear and highlight pages. If they change or drop a class, they can get a full refund. Payment is also flexible, with the company accepting campus cards.

But textbook rentals aren’t for everyone,

Many students, such as Kettering senior Greg Tamanini, 21, keep textbooks for reference and may continue shopping online.

Follett estimates its pilot program, which offered 20 percent of titles, saved students about $2 million at seven schools. Students who don’t return books get the full price charged on their credit cards.

“This way you’re never paying full price,” said Susan Bolt, Kettering’s vice president of administration and finance. “We always want to find ways to make education more affordable for our students, and textbooks are a big expense.”

Bookstores used to be students’ only option for required material, but fierce competition from online used-book sales, digital texts and new rental businesses such as BookRenter has forced changes to get students — especially upperclassmen — back into their campus bookstores.

Textbook affordability also has been the subject of congressional hearings and legislative efforts in dozens of states where lawmakers have proposed bills ranging from eliminating sales tax on textbooks to creating rental programs.

A law that takes effect in July will require publishers to tell professors the price of textbooks when they choose books for classes.

Kettering mechanical engineering junior Paras Sethi, 20, said that, like many students, he had sticker shock on his first trip to the campus bookstore, where he once spent about $500 on three books.

“Now I find a friend in class whose book I can borrow if I need it or borrow one from an upper-classmate,” said Sethi, who would consider renting books. “Money is a big issue for college students. The cheaper, the better.”

Mott Community College student Nicole Markham, 20, estimates spending about $600 to $700 on books this year.

“My family is on a tight budget right now, and we pay for everything out of pocket,” she said. “They seem overpriced. This would give us another option.”